How Hard Will Funding Cuts Hit Stafford?

Community Rallies Together Against S-2

The rally ran on the front lawn of the school, complete with games, a small bonfire, snacks, beverages, and live music courtesy of none other than retired Stafford officer Christopher Fritz. (Photo by Kimberly Bosco)

  STAFFORD – Most students wouldn’t dream of spending a Friday evening at school when they could be home unwinding after a long week. But when the fate of local education could be at stake, not very many were willing to stay home.

  The Stafford PTO hosted a Support Our Students (SOS) rally in an effort to raise awareness about the state aid funding cuts to local school districts. Dozens of community members headed to the Oxycocus Elementary School on Route 9 in Manahawkin for the event.

  The rally was held on the front lawn of the school, complete with games, a small bonfire, snacks, beverages, and live music courtesy of none other than retired Stafford officer Christopher Fritz.

  Organized in part by Stafford PTO, the Board of Education, and school administrators, officials combined education with a bit of fall fun to draw the community’s attention to NJ Senate bill S-2. S-2 was first proposed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney in 2017 and then signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in 2018. The bill cuts “adjustment aid” to school districts that the state has deemed to be over-funded, including Stafford Township schools.

The community showed out in support of Stafford Township School District and its students at a rally against NJ Senate Bill S-2. The rally was held at the Oxycocus Elementary School on Route 9 in Manahawkin. (Photo by Kimberly Bosco)

  According to Joe Mangino, member of the Board of Education and one of the rally’s organizers, Stafford School District stands to lose about $2.5 million over the next five years due to these cuts.

  “One [purpose] is to raise awareness and to educate our community about the impact of these cuts…and second, we have them signing a petition and a letter saying that we want equitable funding for all school districts,” Mangino told Jersey Shore Online.

  Mangino and other Support Our Students affiliates are hoping to get as many signatures as possible, although there is no set goal. They began the rally with over 650 signatures on the petition already, having garnered support from the community the previous weekend at the Stafford Township Fall Wine Festival.

  Through their outreach efforts, the Support Our Students event demonstrated that their message had reached a decent portion of the local community. And this is just the beginning.

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  Mangino noted that they are trying to inform everyone of the reality of what these cuts will look like for students; i.e. less field trips, smaller class sizes, potential cuts to staff and certain programs.

  “We have to look at everything,” he said.

  In just the last year, Stafford schools have lost about $300,000; a loss which they are already starting to feel, having already reduced staff, cutting most non-essential personnel. The Board of Education has also already made the decision to cut all field trips in half.

  “Instead of every grade going, it will be every other grade,” said Mangino. “That’s some decent savings.”

  “One extreme is eliminating courtesy bussing,” he added. “That’s not something we want to do, but we want people to be aware that this is what the impacts are.”

  In addition, officials are looking at the possibility of leasing out the Oxycocus Elementary School building for college classes.

Photo by Kimberly Bosco

  “We’re exploring every avenue we can,” he said.

  According to Mangino, the rumor mill is churning, and there is talk that state officials are considering removing the 2 percent cap from the local tax levy, which would allow for higher taxes to fill in those funding gaps.

  “I’m not for that, it makes us the bad guys instead of the state,” said Mangino.

  While the SOS group doesn’t have another informative rally planned for the near future, there is talk about taking buses up to Trenton to rally for the cause at the place where change is made.